Novell Targets Directory Services Space With Falcon

EDirectory 8.7, formerly code-named Falcon, features Web-based management, roles-based administration capabilities, live backup and support for IBM's AIX operating system, Novell executives said. It was originally due to be released last spring.

One major new feature of eDirectory is a utility called iManager that will allow customers to manage the directory from a browser and a variety of handheld devices.

Observers say the Web-based management capabilities give Novell a leg up on competitors Sun and Microsoft in the directory services market. Sun offers its Sun ONE Directory Server, formerly known as iPlanet, while Microsoft integrates Active Directory (AD) with its Windows server.

"IManager is a full management, administration, and monitoring tool delivered in a browser," said Mike Neuenschwander, senior analyst at the Burton Group. "Strangely, Sun does not have a comparable technology. They offer XMLDAP Gateway, but that product is more akin to eGuide. Microsoft doesn't have anything like it either. I'd like to see Novell use iManager to manage AD or Sun ONE DS."

id
unit-1659132512259
type
Sponsored post

Another feature of eDirectory is live backup, which will assist customers in their business continuity and disaster recovery efforts by allowing them to conduct live backups without taking a system down, said Novell executives.

The product also offers cross-platform support for many network operating systems, including Novell's own NetWare, Windows NT and Windows 2000, Linux and Solaris. The new release adds support for IBM's AIX Unix as well.

EDirectory 8.7 is incorporated into Novell's Nsure Resources employee provisioning solution that was released late last week, executives said.

To entice users of Sun ONE Directory Server to eDirectory 8.7 and Nsure resources, Novell will also launch an aggressive promotion that gives Sun directory users a free 250,000-user license for eDirectory 8.7, as well as 25,000 free user licenses for Novell's DirXML Driver for LDAP. The latter will enable customers to use eDirectory to access their legacy data stored in the Sun ONE/iPlanet Directory Server, said Novell sources.

Falcon is an important aspect of Novell's 18-month Destiny road map for directory services and Web services. As part of that, Novell plans to launch a solution later this year that incorporates support for the Liberty Alliance authentication specification endorsed by Sun and others. That spec will compete in the Web services arena against Microsoft's Passport authentication system. Novell plans to offer native support for Liberty Alliance in eDirectory sometime next year.

In addition, the Provo-based company plans to release a software developer's kit for UDDI by year's end that will enable developers to integrate Web services with its directory. In 2003, Novell will make available its own Enterprise UDDI server to run on eDirectory.